Flight safety performance of the microwave landing system

The microwave landing system (MLS), which is scheduled to be implemented progressively over the next 10 years, is intended to supply the instrument landing system (ILS) as the international standard landing aid. MLS has been demonstrated to be superior to ILS from both performance and reliability standpoints, yet considerable debate persists on its relative merits. Although tolerance criteria for flight safety are embedded in these comparisons, flight safety has not been a major component of these discussions. The reasons why flight safety has not been an issue are addressed, and observations on the flight safety of MLS are related from a systems point of view. The effect of MLS on airport capacity is identified as a central issue. Observations are derived from a review of available documentation and operational results to date as well as discussions with the participants